Training and education

Paediatric surgery, Wessex Regional Centre.
Great Ormond Street.
Southampton and Cardiff law schools.

Experience

Mr Wheeler is a paediatric and neonatal surgeon who has worked for the Trust since 1985. He has worked for over 20 years in oncology surgery, specialising in tumour dissection and long-term venous access, and providing the surgical oncology service for the region.

Mr Wheeler is the director of the department of clinical law, the first such department in the NHS. He provides our clinicians with advice over how legal matters, for example patient consent and confidentiality, should be dealt with. Mr Wheeler also conducted a comprehensive research program in consent law.

Key achievements

Chairman of the national paediatric oncology surgeons working group.
Chairman of Children’s Cancer Surgeons UK (Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group UK), 2008.
Honorary senior lecturer in medical law, School of Medicine.
Chairman of hospital clinical ethics committee.

Awards and prizes

Undergraduate and postgraduate surgical prizes.
First class honours in law.

Research

Mr Wheeler has written various publications, which have been published in major medical and legal journals on surgical oncology and consent and confidentiality law. He was co-editor of Paediatric Surgery, along with his colleagues in this unit.

Mr Wheeler's publications include:

Permanent fixation for long term central venous catheters, JPEN.
Surgery for pectus excavatum, Archives Disease in Childhood.
Gillick and Fraser competence, British Medical Journal.
The legal standard of consent, Lancet.

Contact

You can contact Mr Wheeler by emailing Robert.Wheeler@uhs.nhs.uk.